Wal-Mart adds firms to U.S.-goods effort
Bill Simon, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s U.S. segment, is expected to name more companies with plans to move manufacturing operations to the United States as a part of Wal-Mart’s Made in the USA campaign.
The news will come Thursday during Simon’s remarks at the 82nd annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting in Washington, Wal-Mart said in a news release.
Simon told members of the National Retail Federation a year ago that the retailer would buy an additional $50 billion in American-made products by 2023. Data provided to the company from its suppliers indicate that items made, sourced or grown domestically account for about two-thirds of what Wal-Mart U.S. spends on products it sells.
Since Wal-Mart’s first two-day U.S. Manufacturing Summit in Orlando last August, several suppliers with manufacturing in other countries have said they would move operations stateside and add thousands of U.S. jobs.
- Cyd King
Tyson reaches deal for Bosco’s Pizza Co.
Springdale-based Tyson Foods, Inc. bought Michigan-based Bosco’s Pizza Co. on Saturday, adding it to Tyson’s prepared-foods division.
The frozen-pizza company will continue its operations under the Bosco’s Pizza Co. name, its vice president of operations will continue to manage daily processes and its 150 employees are expected to become Tyson employees, according to a news release issued Monday. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
This is the third acquisition by Tyson Foods in the past 12 months. In June, Tyson purchased California-based Circle Foods, LLC. In February, a Tyson Foods Subsidiary purchased Don Julio Foods of Clearfield, Utah.
- Tina Parker
Arkansas Index rises 2.45; 2 stocks up 3%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 2.45 to 330.86 Tuesday.
“Stocks were mixed as investors responded cautiously to the latest wave of mixed earnings reports in this abbreviated holiday week,” said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Delta Trust Investments Inc. in Little Rock.
He said shares of Arkansas Best Corp. and Bank of the Ozarks “were standouts with both gaining around 3 [percent].”
Bank of the Ozarks Inc. shares rose to $59.45, and Arkansas Best Corp. shares closed at $35.27.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business, Pages 23 on 01/22/2014